NFL Power Rankings Week 14: The elite teams emerge

Former players and pundits often say the best time for a team to hit their stride is December, as the league prepares for the playoffs. So, as we enter the most important weeks of the NFL season, we will be paying even more attention than usual to the performances of the teams we believe have emerged as elite.

There's been nothing redeemable about the New York Giants' season, as they showcased a new level of incompetence we weren't sure they had in their locker. Daniel Jones' release could open up potential for a new dawn next season, but there will need to be a big clear out of players and coaches.

There is far too much talent on this Jets roster for them to be 3-9 and out of playoff contention. The Aaron Rodgers experiment has failed, that much we know, but where they go from here, we have no clue.

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If Trevor Lawrence hadn't been knocked out by a brutal late hit, things could have gone differently for the Jags on Sunday. As it turned out, it was another loss, which is probably not a bad thing at this time of the season. Presuming Doug Pederson is let go, the new coach will have a shiny new top-five draft pick to play with.

The Will Levis to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine connection is fun to watch and has become a key part of the Titans' offense in recent weeks. Unfortunately, it's just about the only part of the team doing anything useful.

Oh so close for the Raiders against the Chiefs. There are building blocks here for Las Vegas to be competitive in the near-future, with players like Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby dominating despite the lack of talent around them. Per Next Gen Stats, Crosby hasn't missed a start in six straight games.

Jerrod Mayo's decision to attempt a 68-yard field goal as time expired was certainly an interesting one. A Hail Mary was almost as unlikely to have worked, but at least there's precedence for that, whereas Joey Slye would have needed to set a new NFL record (by two yards) to win it with a field goal.

Bryce Young has turned things around late and is looking more and more like an NFL quarterback. He is set to face the Eagles this Sunday in what could be a tough test. How he performs will give us a good idea of ​​whether we think he's legit, or he's just hit a small hot streak. We're not expecting a win, but performing well against a great defense would be a good sign.

With Tayson Hill lost for the season to injury, the Saints offense looks devoid of talent beyond Alvin Kamara, but as Frank Schwab writes for Yahoo Sports, “What's the point in wearing out 29-year-old Kamara when the season is already lost? ”

The Cowboys could be about to put together a run that keeps Mike McCarthy in his job for another year, which should worry Dallas fans. Defensively, the return of Micah Parsons transformed the Cowboys, and DeMarvion Overshown is a star in the making.

The Browns' loss against Denver included a performance by Jameis Winston that epitomized his entire career. He threw for 497 and four TDs, he also managed to throw three picks, including two returned for touchdowns. It’s chaos with Winston out there, but he gives the Browns a better shot than Deshaun Watson ever did.

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The Bears don’t really deserve to be this high after one of the worst pieces of time management we have ever seen at the end of their loss to Detroit. However, there are the worst teams in the league, and we have a feeling they may play with some more freedom moving forward now Matt Eberflus is fired.

Per Yahoo Sports, Joe Burrow is on pace for, “4,727 yards, 43 TDs, seven interceptions with a 107.4 rating,” and the Bengals could well be looking at a 10 or 11 loss season. This has become a case study in how not to maintain a talented roster.

Falcons fans are getting the full Kirk Cousins experience this season, highlighted by one of the worst throws we have ever seen in Atlanta’s loss to the Chargers. Somehow, this team is now level with Tampa Bay at the top of the NFC South after losing three in a row.

The playoffs aren’t out of the question for Indy, but it looks unlikely unless they can string some wins together and Denver drops some games. Still, their win over the Patriots showed grit and fight from the whole team, especially Anthony Richardson, whose size and power is impossible to stop at times.

The weather gets colder, the lights get brighter, and the Dolphins get worse. It’s a slightly misleading narrative, but it’s there, and until they show they can beat a good team, we don’t trust the Dolphins at all.

The wheels have fallen off the wagon for the Niners, who lost Christian McCaffrey during the game against the Bills and have now placed Jordan Mason on IR. We thought it could be a struggle this season, as losing Super Bowl teams rarely do well the next year, but we didn’t expect them to be 5-7 entering December.

The NFC West isn’t lost yet, and the Rams are scheduled to play both the Cardinals and the Seahawks in what could be de facto playoff games late in the year. Things haven’t gone smoothly for LA this season, but they’re still in the hunt.

Kyler Murray gifted the Vikings the win on Sunday with two awful interceptions that we’re sure he’ll want back. The race for the division is still tight, so don’t count Arizona out yet. This Sunday’s matchup against Seattle could be pivotal for both sides.

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The Bucs barely scraped by the Panthers, but they got the win and are right back in the playoff hunt. Per USA Today, Bucky Irving became the first rookie to go over 1,000 yards of scrimmage on the season, certainly not something we would have bet on!

We’re not convinced the Texans are an especially good team this year, even if they are 8-5. We recently suggested we thought they were one of the few genuine Super Bowl contenders, we probably want that one back.

The Seahawks are battling, and it’s fun to watch. Leonard Williams put together one of the best performances by a defensive lineman all year against the Jets and deserves his plaudits. Seattle once again leads the division and controls their own destiny.

Bo Nix threw a couple of picks against the Browns that were avoidable, but he also made some impressive throws, including a 93-yarder to Marvin Mims into tight coverage. Given how good this defense is, he doesn’t need to force anything, which he will learn with time and experience.

Justin Herbert may not be putting up the gaudiest of stat lines on the season, but he is also not making any mistakes, having thrown only one pick all year. The Chargers, like the Broncos, can lean on an excellent defense to win them games, the difference is Herbert won’t lose you games like Bo Nix could if he keeps throwing picks.

After a slight slip-up in recent weeks, the Commanders turned their form around in one brutal quarter of dominance against the Titans. It was a case of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ as they put up 21 points in no time. Washington is sitting pretty in the NFC wild card race, which is not something we expected before the season.

We have been Baltimore believers all season long, and we wouldn’t be shocked if they made a Super Bowl run. However, the losses are racking up, which will only make their lives harder as they enter the playoffs. Their bye week has come at a good time, allowing them to clean a few things up.

The Vikings arguably didn’t deserve to beat the Cardinals on Sunday, but they did enough, which at this stage of the season, is all you need to do. Sam Darnold put three poor quarters behind him and played lights out in the final 15 minutes, leading his team on a game-winning score.

Mike Tomlin’s decision to start Russell Wilson over Justin Fields is looking better and better by the week. It’s time to start thinking about the Steelers as true contenders in the AFC.

A tough loss to their divisional rivals, the Lions, on Thursday Night Football shouldn't change the fortunes of Green Bay too much as they look to have a wild card spot wrapped up already. Still, a win would've showed their prowess as one of the best teams in the league.

Look, we know the Chiefs got some luck and some refereeing mistakes that went in their favor on Black Friday, but they’re still the Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes Chiefs, and we won’t be betting against them in the playoffs.

In our minds, there is a clear top three that has emerged in the past few weeks, and the Bills are very much a part of it. Josh Allen is making a mockery of the sport each week with new feats of freakish talent and athleticism, and this defense is playing consistently good football.

Speaking of playing consistently good football… The Eagles have become one of the most physical teams in the NFL this season, grinding teams down with their hard-hitting defense and an offense that punches you right in the mouth and keeps punching. Saquon Barkley is on course for a 2,000-yard season and possibly an MVP award.

The Lions snuck past the Packers on TNF in what was a showcase of Dan Campbell's aggressiveness paying off in the biggest moments. Campbell is very willing to live by the sword, and so far this season, hasn't had to die by it. Defensively, this unit isn't as strong as it was due to one of the worst injury crises we've seen in recent years, but they did enough against the Packers.

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